House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Democratic Reform February 5th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the NDP and their allies have brought those accusations before the courts, but they were dismissed.
Of course, nothing should be clearer from the truth. What the NDP fails to accept is that the reason it lost the election is Canadians recognize that when it comes to their vital economic interests, their jobs and their economic futures only one party stands up for that. That is the Conservative Party. As long as the NDP does not get that, we will be—
Democratic Reform February 5th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, as the court ruled, the Conservative Party did no such thing. On the contrary, we are aware, as many people are aware, of some clearly inappropriate and probably illegal activities in Guelph. We want to make sure that those type of activities are not allowed to happen again and that they are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.
Democratic Reform February 5th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, obviously I will leave the details of the fair elections act to the minister. However, I would say that what the law before us does, the fair elections act, is it looks at various offences, strengthens the hand of law enforcement in that regard, and provides new tools for use when people do break the law or clearly intend to break the law.
Ethics February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly before, it is very common for members of both Houses of Parliament to maintain more than one residence, one in their riding and one in the national capital region. That is very common.
That is not what is at issue here. What is at issue is that there are clear rules to be followed in terms of the public trust and the use of public money and the claiming of expenses. When those rules are not followed, we have tough measures in place to deal with that. The RCMP has acted, and we congratulate them for acting.
Ethics February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, once again, as members know, the RCMP has laid charges against the two senators who it believes have broken the law. As we have said, we expect all parliamentarians to respect the rules and respect the law, and if they do not, there will be consequences. There have already been sanctions by the Senate. We obviously salute and acknowledge the work of the RCMP on these particular cases.
Ethics February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP has laid charges against two senators, one former and one current. We still expect parliamentarians to follow the rules; otherwise, they will suffer the consequences. We commend the RCMP for the work it has done.
Ethics February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, as members know, the RCMP has today laid charges against two senators, one of whom has already been sanctioned by the Senate. The other left before sanctions. This is what we would expect. The RCMP has the full authority to conduct these investigations and to hold anybody who does not respect the rule of the law responsible. That is what is being done. Of course, it will get full co-operation from the government.
Democratic Reform February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, of course the premise of that question is completely false. We have reviewed all of Elections Canada's reports and understand that the present minister met with Elections Canada as far back as last August.
As I have said repeatedly, the Commissioner of Elections is responsible for investigations. What we are doing is making sure that office has full independence and is vested with all of the powers necessary of all other investigators to conduct any investigations on the breaking of the law.
Democratic Reform February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, there is a commissioner at Elections Canada who is responsible for investigations. The amendments that we have proposed will make that office more independent. It has all of the powers it requires to conduct investigations.
Democratic Reform February 4th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. There is a Commissioner of Elections, whose job it is to investigate violations of the law. What we are doing is making sure that office has full independence and is effectively housed in the director of public prosecutions. That should help the independence and the effectiveness of law enforcement.